Stampin Cos Its Fun

Swing for two!

2012-02-20T11:44:00.003+10:00

Here is a card without lace and flowers! I am not entering but I used the challenge sketch from Sketch Saturday which is a really great one for a square card.

I spent hours searching for some very special photos the other day and came across this really old paper pad from K & Co and some sheets of gingham paper. I don't use yellow shades very much so thought I should use a bit of it up. The background layer is on SU So Saffron and then on to white base card.

The image is from LOTV and coloured in with Copic Markers. The wording - also from LOTV is stamped with Memento Cocoa. The star circle is a Spellbinders die that Leigh gave me for Christmas - I love it! That card is SU Pear Pizzaz. The green gems are Annabelle stamps Sprinkles, button and twine are from my stash.

I did find my packet of photos and this one brought back memories of busy times LOL. Here are my three kidlets all those many years ago!

Lots of pink!

2012-02-16T13:52:00.002+10:00

This is the only Sarah Kay image I own and she is so pretty! I have used a variety of supplies here so will just list them below. Again it was more Copic marker practice for me and I most certainly did not get the hollyhocks in the colour I wanted them!

Card: Stampin' Up Blushing Bride, Regal Rose and Pear Pizzazz, MME Blush DSP
Stamps: Sarah Kay and JustRite Stampers
Ink: Archival Black and Copic Markers
Other: SU circle punches, Carl butterfly punches, SU taffeta ribbon, Kaisercraft lace, Magnolia Doohickey die, Martha Stewart branch punch, flowers from my stash.

Girl and her roses

2012-02-14T15:17:00.003+10:00

I admire this kind of card so much but when it comes to making a pretty one, I am in trouble! Just never sure how to get that right balance. This paper is Prima Romantique and I printed out the free image from the Magic Moonlight blog. There are hundreds there which the owner most generously shares.

The whole card is fairly self explanatory - I used a more yellowish colour of card for the neutral than the SU Very Vanilla, the flourish is a Memory Box die, the foliage is the Martha Stewart punch, the seam binding came already dyed from The Funkie Junkie - thanks Linda!!

The wording from SU [retired] has been stamped in Early Espresso, the flowers are from WOC and I have added a touch of glitter to them. Lastly I touched up the little girl's bow with a Copic Marker in gold. The lace and pearls are from my stash! I realised after I stuck down the bottom layers that I needed to do some edge sponging but too late she cried so it is not done! I WILL learn!

Merry Monday Challenge #6

2012-02-10T16:07:00.002+10:00

As I had this Marci image all coloured and cut out, I thought this challenge was a good time to use her! This is #6 of Lesley's Merry Monday challenges - to use the sketch above and make a Christmas card!

I went with a square card and used Bo Bunny and Melissa Francis DSP - layered on to SU Night of Navy and then a white card base. For the fence, I punched out white palings with the SU word window punch and after I put it all together, I sprayed it with a Glimmer Mist spray.

The little snowflakes were punched out of glitter paper with a little Carl punch, Marci has Sparkly Fluff on her outfit, the wording is from a JustRite Stampers set and the twine is from SU.

Tomorrow I hope to start on a couple of non Christmas cards!

Merry Monday Challenge #5

2012-02-04T14:37:00.002+10:00

I didn't think I would get a card made in time to enter this challenge as every day this week seemed to be taken up with something more important - like bookwork for the accountant. I always leave it until the last minute to do!! I wanted to use a couple of my new goodies so here they are!

As you can see, there is no stamping at all on this card - I did use ink to sponge around edges etc but nothing more! This is for Lesley's # 5 Merry Monday challenge- of course a Christmas card and this sketch!

Card: SU Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Early Espresso and Deck the Halls DSP, Bazzill greens
Ink: SU Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Other: Nestabilities Fleur de Lis Squares, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Tim Holtz die cuts, SU lace and ribbon and rhinestones. Oh and a tiny SU pearl for the deer's eye!

Darling Princess

2012-02-01T12:28:00.003+10:00

This card ended up so differently from when I started it! I had stamped and coloured these two images thinking I was going to make two cards with them. Nothing seemed to fall into place for my liking until I combined them both on the same card so that is the way it finished - I am fed up of looking at it and changing things!

The paper is MME Lost and Found Market Street, the cardstock is SU Early Espresso and Calypso Coral and the border punch used is from SU. The zinnias image is a JustRite Stampers stamp and the little girl is Darling Marci from La La Land Crafts.

I dyed the seam binding with SU Calypso Coral and I have used an embossing folder on the brown strip.

So now it is good to move on to another card!!

Big dramas last night as our little dog started fitting so we did a forty minute dash to a vet with her. She survived overnight - he took her home with him as she was on a drip and needed monitering. Hopefully we can bring her home this afternoon and she will be on medication now for the rest of her life. One of the challenges of having pets - we really need medical insurance for ours!!

Bringing Baby

2012-01-27T14:32:00.002+10:00

Inspiration for this card came from a card by Darsie which you can see here. As I owned the DSP, I thought making a baby card was a great way of using it. Thank you Darsie!

The image was lightly coloured with Copic markers and cut out as I wanted to emboss the background. Now I should make a card for a baby girl in a similar way.

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Bringing Baby, Crafters Companion [wording]
Card: Linen white for the base, SU Whisper White, Authentique Journey DSP, the blue is from my stash
Ink: Memento black, SU Tempting Turquoise, Copic Markers
Other: SU grosgrain ribbon, SU pearls, charm and twine from my stash. Nestabilities Fleur de Lis rectangles, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Guest Designer card

2012-01-26T07:58:00.005+10:00

Firstly a very HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY to all my fellow Aussies. I know it will be a wet one for many and a lot of outdoor events have had to be cancelled but I am sure there will still be lots of barbies and good fun happening on this holiday. We have such a country of contrasts - bushfires and extreme heat on the west side and flooding on the east side right now but it is still a great country to live in.

As I was chosen as the winner of the Merry Monday #2 challenge, Lesley asked me to be guest designer for this week - Merry Monday Challenge #4. It is always a thrill to win something especially when there are lots of other entries! Sorry Lesley, I am late at putting this up to show.

I hope lots can join in and enter this week - I am so happy that I have made such a head start on my Christmas cards! This way, I can take more time over my cards and get more enjoyment out of making them.

This is the card I made up. The image is from JustRite Stampers and I have embossed it using Stampin' Up! Early Espresso and Versamark inks before colouring it in with Copics and using Sparkly Fluff on the roof and tiny rhinestones for the berries.

Might be easier here if I just list what I used.

Card: SU Very Vanilla, Bazzill red, Authentique Wonder, SU Garden Green, Gold mirror card
Ink: SU Early Espresso, Versamark, Copic Markers, Antique Linen Distress ink
Stamps: JustRite Stampers, Stampin' Up! Teeny Weeny Sentiments
Other: Martha Stewart punch, SU window punch, SU Cherry Cobbler seam binding, Nesties die, rhinestones, Sparkly Fluff.

Merry Monday Challenge #3

2012-01-22T07:53:00.003+10:00

This week seems to just have flown me by and here I am on the last day showing my card for Lesley's Merry Monday challenge.

As soon as I saw this bauble image from JustRite Stampers, I thought of a wintery look which means white and a Nordic look so decided to use purple and gold [ silver would have looked nice too I think].

So I have gold embossed the bauble, stamped it again with Stampin' Up! Elegant Eggplant and just cut out the reindeer strip and added it to the top of the embossed bauble. It was then cut out with a Nestie die. I added little Martha Stewart branches to the top and SU cord for the loop [retired here long ago!] The layer under the bauble is embossed with a folder from SU and the greeting from JustRite Stampers is cut out with an SU punch.

It is nice to have yet another card finished for my stash!

Merry Monday Challenge #2

2012-01-15T14:22:00.002+10:00

This is the only card I have made all week as I have had my daughter and family here - three littlies which keep us all on our toes! I keep reminding her that I had three all born in the one year and no disposable nappies back then!! Fun and games for a while!!

This is the second week of Lesley's Merry Monday Challenges which are Christmas themed and we are given a sketch! I am happy I got my card finished before the deadline.

I have used a JustRite Stampers set for the images, the wording is from SU, the paper is My Minds Eye Lost and Found Christmas and the card and ribbon is Stampin' Up! I coloured SU rhinestones with a Copic Marker and one of the trees is raised with SU Dimensionals.

Merry Monday Challenge #1

2012-01-05T14:46:00.003+10:00

Lesley at Always Playing with Paper has started a great challenge for this year! This is the first one - she gives the sketch and we make a Christmas card each week. If I can take part most weeks, I will have a nice stash of cards ready by the end of the year! Thank you Lesley!

I have used SU Poppy Parade, Garden Green DSP and Whisper white here. The image is from Heartfelt Creations, I have coloured it with Copic Markers three times and then cut out and layered the flower. There are tiny rhinestones in the centre. The small flowers have Peach Spica on them and SU pearls in their centres. The embossed background is done with an SU embossing folder and the border is done with an SU border punch.

I have gold embossed the greetings which is a JustRite Stampers stamp and cut it out with a Spellbinders die.

Cattleyas!

2011-12-29T12:15:00.002+10:00

I hope everyone had a lovely relaxing Christmas Day. We had a really quiet one but lots of phone calls and we had some lovely presents to open. As it was a cooler day than normal, I cooked roast pork, chicken, vegetables etc. Usually it is colds meats and salads for us!

I must apologise for the quality of this photo - it is so overcast here today and I have not edited this at all. The SU Rose Red card stock and ribbon look way too red!

Again I enjoyed colouring in the orchids from Flourishes with Copic Markers. These were then cut out with a Nestie and layered on another Nestie. The background paper and brown layer are from Prima and MME paper pads and the swirls are cut from a Memory Box die - my little Christmas present to myself LOL!!

It is finished off with the greeting from SU Teeny Weeny Wishes and punched out with two SU punches and I have put SU pearls in the corners and on the flowers.

A Christmas CASE!

2011-12-21T09:12:00.003+10:00

I really loved a card I saw on Joanne Leddy's blog and so here is a very simple version of it! No where near as lovely as Joanne's. I just love all her finishing details - thank you Joanne for the inspiration - I admire your work!

In hindsight I should have had only vanilla card under the satin ribbon but I did not realise it would show through so much - never mind!

The stamp sets I used were SU Merry and Type and Winter Post. The DSP used is SU Deck the Halls and Love Letter.

Christmas treats

2011-12-19T11:34:00.003+10:00

As I recuperate from surgery, I am not much in the mood for doing projects or cooking but wanted to make a nice gift for our Agronomist Chris who has been coming so regularly all year and giving us lots of advice and help. If I am kind to him, he might even bring us some lychees which he has an orchard of!!!

I made up this little tray using SU Riding Hood Red card stock and ribbon and Letter to Santa DSP. The card is made to match. The wording comes from the set Merry and Type.

I thought Chris may have eaten enough Macadamias for a while so these little butter balls have almonds in them!

If I don't get to post again before Christmas, I wish my readers a really Happy Christmas and a safe and healthy 2012. You never know, I might get something made to show before then!!

Simple!

2011-12-02T11:54:00.003+10:00

I have not posted for a while but do have quite a few Christmas cards made - most of which have ideas from other people's cards. I received a pack of gold and silver mirror card stock so have put it to use! This is such a simple but effective layout that my friend Sharon in the US uses a lot. Thank you Sharon for the inspiration you give me!

The cardstock used is Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla smooth and textured and Cherry Cobbler as well as the gold mirrored card. The paper comes from a MME paper pad and the image is from Penny Black and has been gold embossed. I used red glitter glue for the dots!

I will get back to doing challenges when I have all my Christmas mail organised and sent off. Hopefully this year that will happen earlier than is usual for me LOL!

SU has some great item discounts for December - some are 50% off including the lovely Welcome Christmas set! They are worth while checking out.

Lil Rocker

2011-11-23T11:33:00.003+10:00

More colouring and using a couple of new dies! I coloured Luka with Copic Markers and was surprised how well the retired SU Green Galore card matched! I used the SU music wheel for the centre panel and used Green Galore and Night of Navy markers for the wording.

I think I made this card too busy with all the starry paper etc but it is all done and dusted now. One plus is that it will be so easy to post - nice and flat!

Poinsettias

2011-11-20T16:13:00.003+10:00

I have been making a card or two and after seeing cards on Sandi MacIver's blog, I made this one using some of her ideas. Thanks Sandi!

The image and wording were gold embossed and the image was coloured with inkpads and blender pen. The dry embossing was sponged over with SU Soft Suede ink and the DSP is from the SU Speciality pack - Mocha Morning. Very beautiful pack of paper. As Sandi did, I put little SU pearls in the flower centres.

Marci again!

2011-11-13T11:42:00.003+10:00

Another practice with the Copics!! This Stampin' Up! paper is so old - I don't even remember the name of the pack! Such pretty colours though. I used Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery and retired Orchid Opulence card stock.

The punched flowers have wee wee buttons as their centres - I had almost forgotten I still had them - I certainly dug into the archives for this card!!

I am entering it in the La-La Land Crafts Customer Gallery for their monthly challenge!

I was excited to see where I was one of the top three picks in the Sentimental Sundays challenge last week with my irises card so maybe my flower shading is better than what I can do with poor Marci!

Skateboarder

2011-11-08T16:07:00.004+10:00

Now here is a contrast to the previous card! I wanted to try out my new star border die and decided that the Stampin' Up! Extreme Skateboarder would work well with it. I stamped out the image, cut it out and then filled in any white places with a black marker.

The background stamp and wording come from Taylored Expressions as does the patterned paper and cardstock. The black background layer has been embossed with a Pinstripes embossing folder. Jane gave me the lovely twine - thank you Janey!!

Field Flowers

2011-11-07T09:48:00.003+10:00

A lot of credit for this card comes from this one - a beautiful card made by Julie! I loved the idea of putting Melon Mambo with these brown shades. Thank you Julie for the inspiration!

SU Field Flowers is one of my newish favourite sets - there are so many ways to use these flowers - add centres, have buds instead of flowers, many different colour combos etc.

I have used the SU Mocha Morning Speciality DSP - again so many uses for these papers!

Birth Month Challenge

2011-11-05T11:15:00.003+10:00

It is a long time since I have taken part in the Sentimental Sundays challenge - this is #79. The theme this time is to use your birth flower or colours as the inspiration plus a sentiment. I am not totally sure whether my month's flower is an iris or violets but have gone with the iris!

Again I have used my Copic markers for the shading of these flowers from Flourishes. The card layers are SU Garden Green and Perfect Plum.

Orchids

2011-11-04T11:59:00.002+10:00

It was just nice to be able to do some Copic marker colouring yesterday. The colours are not as strong as this photo shows - I used quite subtle pink shades. I used to grow lots of these phalaenopsis or moth orchids and they come in many different colours and shades including these dark pinks.

I did not add lumpy embellishments here as it has to be sent through the post and I would like it to get to its destination still looking good.

This is the first time [shame] that I have die cut with some of the image outside the cutting line. It worked out OK !

SC 014/11

2011-11-01T14:18:00.002+10:00

Seems no time since I made the challenge card for last week but I am earlier this time! For the Sunny Challenges and Creations challenge this week, we have a sketch to use and the colours Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise. I think it is great when we have both a sketch and some thing else - more of a challenge then!

I have used DSP from SU Greenhouse Gala and the Brights Designer Series Paper pack, the piggy is from Button Buddies, the party hat is punched out of white card which was stamped with a balloon from Up up and Away using Daffodil Delight. The piggy's nose was stamped, punched out and I used Crystal Effects on it.

The border was done by using the Tasteful Trim die on both Tempting Turquoise and Daffodil Delight and placing the blue behind the yellow. The wording is from SU Something to Celebrate.

I am off to make a coffee - I have just picked up my third coffee machine in two weeks - seems the other two were from a bad batch - they say third time lucky so we will see!! Then I have to package up about thirty cards ready to sell! I love making them but not so keen on the sale preparation LOL!!

Sunny Challenges #13

2011-10-28T13:51:00.003+10:00

For this week, Sunny Challenges and Creations has a sketch for the challenge. It is a simple but nice one and I can think of many ways of using it.

Here I have teamed the set Creative Elements with the Beau Chateau DSP and added Very Vanilla, Soft Suede and Marina Mist as the cardstock colours.

I used one of the new SU dies for the circle and embossed the top one with the SU stripes embossing folder.

Congratulations to Leigh for winning last week's challenge!

Marci

2011-10-26T14:12:00.003+10:00

Whoops! I think Marci looks a wee bit sunburnt - hmmm better face shading is needed! All practice for me - I went back to Emerald straight after our weekend in Sydney so took some images and my Copics and had fun! It is so relaxing to do colouring. It is hard to believe that one could sit and colour for over two days at the Conference but the time just flew and with all the chatter and being shown ideas and techniques throughout the days, it was great!

I thought it was about time I showed a card finished after seeing our Conference friends showing their work. Thank you girls for making the weekend so good - I enjoyed it all and learnt so much.

For this card, I used SU Marina Mist for the base , a Regal Rose retired paper for the pink and some blue gingham paper from my stash. I was very inspired by this card of Debbie Pamment's - it is gorgeous! What - no ribbon?? Well I used rhinestone swirls and flowers so decided no room for ribbon LOL.

The wording is from Stampin' Up as were the oval and scalloped punches used for the wording layers.

Sunny Challenges #11

2011-10-22T12:19:00.002+10:00

I have not made a card for so long- life gets in the way!! This one is for the Sunny Challenges and Creations #11. We have a sketch to use and are to have flowers on the card.

The card is mostly self explanatory - I spritzed the white embossed layer with SU Smooch though you cannot see that in the picture.

Colours I used are SU Basic Black, Melon Mambo and Whisper White.

Sunny Challenges and Creations Week 10

2011-10-06T09:32:00.003+10:00

It was fun to use one of my new sets for this card - SU Zoo Review! This week for the Sunny Challenges & Creations, we have a sketch and had to have animals, birds, bugs, insects or fish on the card.

I have stamped the Giraffe on to So Saffron cardstock and then coloured all spots with a So Saffron marker, then went back over some with a More Mustard marker. The base card is More Mustard, followed by a layer of Garden Green then Frostwood Lodge DSP. For a spot of contrast, I have also used a layer of Cherry Cobbler.

This is a nice easy sketch to use so hope many can join in this week - I really enjoy the idea of a sketch and something more in the same challenge.

Sunny Challenges #9

2011-10-01T16:31:00.003+10:00

I am leaving it late to enter this week - it has been a full week for me with family here which was so wonderful! I had lots of cuddles of my newest grand daughter who is five months old now - she is all smiles and is beautiful of course!

I am not at all happy with this card but I do like to enter the Sunny Challenge each week if I can. This is what happens when I leave things until the last minute - everything goes wrong! Now I see I did not use the ribbon how the sketch showed it - damn!! The challenge this week was to use the given sketch and have some heat embossing on the card!

I again used the Beau Chateau DSP and heat embossed the image with black embossing powder.
The base card is Sahara Sand and the sentiment is stamped on the same.

Stamps: Elements of Style and Four Frames
Card: Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Beau Chateau DSP
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black, Marina Mist, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron
Other: Black Satin ribbon, Marina Mist taffeta ribbon, Black embossing powder, Decorative Label punch and pearls

Another Sunny Challenge!

2011-09-23T15:35:00.003+10:00

It is about time I finished this card! I started it days ago but have had too many interruptions. There is still plenty of time to play though in the Sunny Challenges and Creations 008/11 this week. We had to use the sketch above plus the colours of SU Marina Mist, Crumb Cake and Cajun Craze.

It is a good challenge and of course my first thoughts were to make a male themed card but then remembered the Beau Chateau DSP so worked around that. The lined circle behind the flower is the back side of the blue paper I used. The scalloped circle is from the SU Pennants Die - I am not fussed on it but like the scalloped edges. I have stamped the flower from SU Creative Elements three times and the centre is put up on Dimensionals as is the wording.

I love the punches as you can see - I have used five SU punches here!

Our Creative Corner Challenge

2011-09-22T11:27:00.002+10:00

Seeing as I love blue shades, I thought it fun to join in the Our Creative Corner challenge this week called Not too Big on Pink. We had to use blue with just a touch of pink, incorporate some texture and a metal piece! For my texture I have used lace with taffeta ribbon threaded through and my metal pieces are the teeny weeny blue brads in the middle of the teeny weeny pink flowers!

The bird from SU Elements of Style is stamped in Marina Mist and I used a Night of Navy marker to colour his head and around his edges. The tiny flowers were punched with a baby punch I have had for many years - so cute.

A La Card Monkey GD again!

2011-09-17T18:38:00.002+10:00

After again being one of the lucky winners of the challenge last week, I am Guest Designer for this week's A La Card Monkey 74 challenge with the sketch above and the theme You've Got a Friend!

It was a great opportunity to use my Field Flowers set - so love it. For the circles around the main image, I used the circle stamp from Artistic Etchings.

For the flowers, I stamped first with Tangerine Tango and then with Poppy Parade and the centres were stamped first with Soft Suede and then with Early Espresso. They were cut out and popped up with Dimensionals.

SC 007/11

2011-09-16T18:00:00.002+10:00

This one is the hardest I have tackled yet in the Sunny Challenges and Creations! This sketch is for the # 7 one and the only stamping we could do was the sentiment. I nearly opted out of doing anything and now I have this card finished, I don't really like it. I had to put my skates on though and enter it if I was going to as I didn't realise the entries close in a couple of hours. That gives me no time to procrastinate over it any more LOL!

It was a great opportunity to use my new alphabet die set - it is an excellent set in really good sizes for cards! The paper comes from the SU Nursery Suite Speciality pack - now retired but the colours are still in. The greeting comes from the SU set Something to Celebrate and the Corduroy button is one from the retired Baja Breeze pack.

New blog look!

2011-09-13T16:43:00.002+10:00

Isn't it just so pretty?? Lesley Croghan is offering Premade and Custom made banners for our blogs! She decided to offer a custom made banner and shop now badge as blog candy and I was the very lucky winner - I couldn't believe it!

Then came the fun part for me to work out what I would like in the way of colours, style etc! Lesley asked me for a few of my favourite things in Stampin' Up! and she came up with this banner! I love what she has done for me and the great part too was that she has set it all up for me including the background.

Thank you ever so much Lesley - I am proud of my new look blog and if anyone wants to see more, you can click on the link on the right side or go to Lesley's blog! There are some really great pre made banners there already.

A La Card Monkey Challenge GD

2011-09-10T16:41:00.002+10:00

As I was one of the winners of the A La Monkey Challenge a week ago [most exciting!], I was invited to be a guest designer for this week's challenge! We had a sketch to follow and the theme was Fun. So here is my interpretation of Fun and the sketch! I must say it was fun too putting this card together.

I used the lovely new SU paper called Just Add Ink - all nice and bright and teamed it with Wild Wasabi, Poppy Parade and So Saffron. The little letters on the balloons were punched out of the Just Add Ink DSP with the half inch circle punch - perfect!

I hope you can be inspired by my card and will enter the challenge this week - I look forward to seeing everyone's entry!

SC 006/11

2011-09-10T15:29:00.002+10:00

What a dreadful day it is here today - blowing cold gales - from the South Pole I am sure!! It was great fun trying to hang the washing on the line this morning - needed a dozen sets of hands!!

This card is made for the Sunny Challenges and Creations 006. We had a sketch to follow and had to use a Stampin' Up Wheel somewhere. I have very few wheels - even less than Leigh - but do love this music one and grabbed the opportunity to use it again.

I wheeled it in Early Espresso on Very Vanilla and layered it on Early Espresso. The Crumb Cake layer has been embossed with the new Stripes folder but hard to see in this photo. Another new goodie I used is the Champagne Glass Glitter!

Stamps: Perfect Punches, Welcome Christmas
Card: Very vanilla, Early Espresso and Crumb Cake
Ink: Early Espresso
Other: Circle punches, Lace ribbon, Designer Label punch, Champagne Glass Glitter, Stripes embossing folder

Monkey Challenge 72

2011-09-08T14:36:00.002+10:00

For this week for the A La Card Monkey challenge, we had a sketch and a Christmas theme to work with. I thought this would be so easy but for some reason it took me forever to make this card. I must have stamped the image from SU Welcome Christmas twenty times and still I am not happy with the way it stamps. Oh welllll!!!!

The holly comes from the bells image in the set Bells and Boughs and I have coloured them with markers and covered the berries with Crystal Effects.

Stamps: SU Bells and Boughs, Welcome Christmas
Card: SU Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Deck the Halls DSP
Ink: SU Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke
Other: SU lace ribbon, Crystal Effects

Bright and Happy!

2011-09-07T09:14:00.002+10:00

Three lovely strong colours for the Connie and Mary Challenge this time and I have made a card that will also fit into two other challenges - The Paper Players whose theme was Birthdays and 4 Crafty Chicks whose theme was Celebrate.

Again I used the SU stamp set Fabulous Florets and used Rich Razzleberry DSP. I coloured the SU rhinestones to match. The ribbon looks a strange colour in the picture but it is the Rich Razzleberry taffeta ribbon. I finished off the flowers with Dazzling Diamonds.

Another bird!

2011-09-03T18:17:00.003+10:00

It was really exciting to again be the winner of the week on the Sunny Challenges blog. Wow!! Thank you Kris, Vicki and Gwen for choosing my card!

Well I have cut it a bit fine to enter the SC 05/11 challenge for this week but still some time left! We had the sketch above and we had to use the colour SU Marina Mist somewhere. I just love this SU Nature Walk stamp set and as we could use whatever shape we liked on the left side, I did it this way!

I started with an Early Espresso base, layered with Very Vanilla and then layered with Early Espresso DSP and Newsprint DSP which has been sponged with So Saffron and Marina Mist.

The only Early Espresso ribbon I own is the wide striped grosgrain so I frayed half of the width off and put a strip of punched border in Marina Mist over the frayed bits. Three antique brads sit on the ribbon and for the top corner pieces, I punched out pieces with the square scallop punch and ran them through the Square Lattice embossing folder.

For the image part, I used stamps from the Nature Walk set on a circle of Very Vanilla - these were stamped in So Saffron and the edges sponged with Early Espresso. The bird has been stamped with Early Espresso and coloured with Marina Mist and So Saffron. The leaves have been punched out of Old Olive.

Is that all? Oh the wording comes from the set Oval All - it is a pretty little stamp! I wanted to keep this card fairly flat as it is going to someone overseas but the wording is raised on Dimensionals.

A La Card Monkey challenge

2011-09-02T12:07:00.002+10:00

As I don't own very many autumn themed stamps, this WAS a bit of a challenge for me which was great! This card is for the A La Card Monkey Challenge 71 - Because it is all about Autumn! Yesterday was our first day of Spring here!!

I could only think of my SU Autumn Days set so combined that with the SU colours of Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso and Pool Party.

I have scored a few lines top and bottom of the background piece and added the brads and twine with the tiny tags - wording from Teeny Weeny Sentiments. The main image is raised on Dimensionals and I used some of the SU wide grosgrain Early Espresso ribbon behind it.

Friday Mashup #22

2011-08-31T11:48:00.004+10:00

Here is a very simple card for the Friday Mashup challenge this week. The challenge is called Bossy and Sketchy so we could use embossing somewhere.

I started off using SU Blushing Bride for my colour but thought I needed a brighter colour so this is Melon Mambo.

Stamps: SU Because I Care, Best Yet
Card: SU Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Newsprint DSP
Ink: Melon Mambo, Basic Black
Other: SU taffeta ribbon, circle punches, CB embossing folder, SU rhinestones coloured with markers.

Another for Connie and Mary

2011-08-30T08:57:00.003+10:00

A great sketch this week from the Create With Connie and Mary challenge #164 and I am sure there will be lots of lovely entries to be inspired from!

I think this card is fairly self explanatory - I did stamp the Crumb Cake layer with the background stamp from The Open Sea set before I embossed it but the embossing faded it off. I am lucky I enjoy cutting out and the little Stampin' Up! paper snips are excellent to use. I even managed to make my globe quite round!! All my jumbo rivets have been used up so I just used circles of card and brads.

Stamps: The Open Sea, Teeny Weeny Sentiments
Card: Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Nautical Expedition DSP
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy
Other: Tag punch, Bakers Twine, brads, Itty Bitty Shapes punch, Spiral punch

Back to flowers!

2011-08-28T15:14:00.005+10:00

This card is being entered into two challenges - one is an inspiration picture with
4 Crafty Chicks and the other a sketch with Stampin' Queen Sketch Challenge #1.

From the picture I used the colours SU Tempting Turquoise, Concord Crush, Old Olive and Whisper White. The stamp sets used are Fabulous Florets, Clearly for You, Just Believe and a SAB set called Clearly for You. Elegant Bouquet is the embossing folder used.

I stamped the main flower twice and just cut out the centre piece on one and raised it with Dimensionals.

Now to think about what to do for a few more cards and challenges!

Sunny Challenges & Creations #4

2011-08-26T18:50:00.002+10:00

I was waiting for brighter weather so I could take a better photo but not to be - it got darker as the day went on! This card is made for the Sunny Challenges & Creations #4 challenge and this week, we had the above sketch plus some embossing and a Christmas theme to be used. It has been fun to join in these challenges when I can.

I am not too sure about this card as I did not use traditional colours and maybe I should have to match the more vintage image. I still think the Pretty In Pink and Elegant Eggplant can make nice colours for Christmas cards!

My favourite SU set of all time Lovely as A Tree [I see 2001 on my case so it is old just like me!] is used for the background - stamped and embossed in black. I shaded the sky and the pond, then used Dazzling Diamonds over the pond area. The skaters are black embossed and coloured with an Aquabrush and inkpads. They are raised with Dimensionals.

The DSP is Lap of Luxury and I embossed the top layers with Petals A Plenty Embossing folder. The greeting is from Many Merry Messages.

Halloween????

2011-08-26T09:55:00.003+10:00

What am I doing!! This is the very first and probably the very last Halloween card I will ever make! A La Card Monkey challenge had Halloween as their theme this week together with a sketch. I own one Halloween stamp and it is the wording I used here so it has seen ink for the first time LOL!

I could not think what I could do although I was in the US around Halloween time one year and got to see the excellent displays in front yards - ghosts and bats hanging in trees, carved pumpkins everywhere - I loved seeing it all! So I should have had lots of ideas!

It was the opportunity for me though to use those yummy Halloween colours and that Elegant Eggplant which I love! I stamped the background with the SU woodgrain background stamp [ love it] and then ran it through a stripe embossing folder. The green is a retired SU colour and just used buttons from my stash.

The owls are supposed to look scared - hmmm not sure I got that look LOL!!

CCMC163

2011-08-24T10:01:00.005+10:00

Such pretty colours and I wanted flowers but then I needed green for leaves!!! I decided to try using the Pacific Point for the shadow background of the flower and it looks OK to me. This is for the Connie and Mary Challenge 163 using the above colours.

I have scored lines at the top and bottom of the white base, stamped the flower from Fabulous Florets on Tangerine Tango DSP and cut it out. The wording comes from Teeny Tiny Sentiments and I used the Tasteful Trims die for the scalloped edges.

Sunny Challenges & Creations#3

2011-08-20T09:30:00.003+10:00

It took me most of the week to think what I would do for this challenge! Was going to forget about it until I remembered seeing these little punched carts on cards - some one was very clever to think of them in the first place! For the Sunny Challenges & Creations #3, as well as the sketch above, we had to use the stamp set Fox and Friends - now this is a real challenge - having a sketch and a specified stamp set too!! Love it!

I will just list the supplies I used as I think the card itself is self explanatory. For the zigzag trim at the top and bottom, I just used the pieces left after cutting out the middle zigzag strip.

Card: SU Textured Whisper White, So Saffron DSP, Baja Breeze textured and smooth, Choc Chip textured and smooth
Stamps: Fox and Friends, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Ink: So Saffron, Choc Chip
Other: Tasteful Trim die, Baja Breeze seam binding, Curly Label, Word Window, Small Oval, Scalloped Edge, Heart to Heart and Itty Bitty Shapes and Owl punch for the wheels and handle, Bakers Twine, Dimensionals, So Saffron brads, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.

Friday Mashup and Monkey challenges

2011-08-18T17:57:00.003+10:00

The challenge for the Friday Mashup #19 was a hard one for me as the colours were Marina Mist and Perfect Plum plus another colour and a neutral of our choice. I chose Very Vanilla and Pear Pizzazz as my colours and I used the sketch for the A La Card Monkey 69 challenge. I just hope I have balanced the colours well enough - they are both very pretty colours but I found it hard to put them together.

The stamp I used is Upsy Daisy, I used DSP from Greenhouse Gala and the Designer Series paper pads and Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon.

Mojo Monday sketch 204

2011-08-18T10:00:00.003+10:00

I just had to have a try at this challenge - Mojo Monday Sketch 204. Leigh decided we needed to do it LOL! I used lots of layers and all supplies are from Stampin' Up except for circle and scalloped circle.

Stamps: Artistic Etchings, Tiny Tags
Card: Riding Hood Red, Black, Very Vanilla, Love Letter DSP
Ink: Black, Tempting Turquoise
Other: Square Lattice Embossing folder, lace, black satin ribbon, tag punch, photo corner punch, brads.

Create With Connie and Mary Challenge 162

2011-08-17T14:36:00.004+10:00

This is such a nice sketch that I decided to have a go at this CCMC #162. So many lovely entries this week so obviously many others loved the sketch as well. Thank you Connie and Mary for keeping us challenged each week!

For my card, I used some of the little ideas from a card in our new SU catalogue. I used the SU card colours of Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla and Marina Mist and Crumb Cake patterned DSP. The set I used is Nature Walk and the little flowers were punched out of Pink Pirouette and Newsprint DSP. They have SU rhinestones for their centres.

Now I go back to finishing off another challenge. There are still a few days left thank goodness!

Twine!

2011-08-16T16:33:00.006+10:00

Here is a very simple card that I have had started for a while. It was a good opportunity to make it up for the 4 Crafty Chicks challenge this week where we had to use twine on our card! This image comes from the SU Seaworthy set and stamped in Early Espresso.

I searched everywhere for instructions for a knot which I have used before for sea themed cards but no way could I find the one I was looking for so just used a very simple one here!

The paper is SU Nautical Expedition DSP and the cardstock is Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White. The wording comes from the set Bring on the Cake. I thought this one went particularly well with the rest of the card.

Here is a photo I took from our back door this afternoon. A doe kangaroo in front with a joey in her pouch and the one behind is her last joey.

Sketchbook Saturday Challenge #24

2011-08-15T16:25:00.000+10:00

Yesterday Leigh and I challenged each other to make a card using this sketch from Chupa's Sketchbook Challenge #24 sketch. Wait til you see Leigh's - it is beautiful. We had no idea what each other had in mind and the two cards are totally different!

I have used the papers from K & Co's Once Upon a Springtime and layered them on Stampin' Up! Handsome Hunter and Groovy Guava. The cutting out of the fairy and the flowers took me the longest time to do but it was all very simple. I dyed the seam binding with SU Groovy Guava refill ink and there is a bit of glitter on the flowers and the fairy. The wording is a JustRite Stampers stamp stamped in SU Early Espresso.

Friday Mashup Challenge #18

2011-08-09T09:22:00.003+10:00

Yet another challenge for me - I am enjoying them! For the Friday Mashup #18 challenge, the theme is True Love Sparkles and Shines.

I had this card in mind as an Anniversary card but am thinking now that you could use it for other occasions as well - thank you, just because, wedding, engagement etc.

The Base card is SU Blushing Bride, then a layer of silver card, then a layer of SU white card which I embossed. The DSP layer is from the SU in colour 6 x 6 hostess pad and I have stamped over that with a stamp from Elements of Style with Soft Suede stamped off. Both sides were punched with the SU hearts border punch.

The SU white ribbon is across this layer, then the flowers and leaves over that. I stamped the wording from JustRite stampers and embossed with SU silver powder. The ovals are all cut with Nestabilities. To finish, I placed the pink rhinestones [that took the longest LOL] and put glitter glue on the flowers.

Elements of Style once more!

2011-08-06T14:29:00.004+10:00

For this card, I have combined the colours from one challenge and the sketch from another - made it so easy for me! The colour combo for the Connie and Mary challenge 161 are so very summery and pretty together and the sketch is for the Paper Players Challenge #57.

The patterned paper comes from the SU paper pack Play Date, I have spotlighted the flowers from the Elements of Style set and the sentiment comes from the double set Bring on the Cake.

SSC22

2011-08-05T09:06:00.005+10:00

Here is another challenge entry - this time for the Sketchbook Saturday Challenge #22. I think this is a great sketch. Thank you Chupa!!!

My base card is retired SU Sage Shadow - oh how I love this colour and of course you don't see it here but it matches nicely with some of this paper which is Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden. The brown strips are SU Soft Suede and I used the SU scallop edge punch for the piece across the bottom.

The lacy border is a Spellbinders die called Parisian Accents and it is SU Blush Blossom card - another beautiful retired colour which goes so well with this paper. The sentiment is from Flourishes and stamped in Soft Suede on a frame stamped in SU Sage Shadow on SU Very Vanilla, then cut out with a Nestabilities die.

To finish off, I put a Prima flower on a seam binding bow and added some SU pearls and a wee bit of SU Dazzling Diamonds.

Sc 001/11

2011-08-03T13:18:00.002+10:00

Here I am using one of my poor more neglected SU sets Inspired by Nature! This card is for the Sunny Challenges & Creations challenge - a new one which Leigh steered me to. I like the idea of these challenges where we have to use a sketch and a certain stamp set or sometimes it may be an embossing folder or something else from SU.

It is nice to be able to get into some challenges again - so many out there. I have clear embossed the daisies by inking them up with markers and stamping with the SAMJ in position, then stamping over again with Versamark.

Stamps: Inspired By Nature, Pendant Park
Card: Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Pumpkin Pie, Baja Breeze DSP
Ink: Always Artichoke, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Other: Small oval punch, hearts border punch, Dimensionals, narrow grosgrain ribbon

CCMC160

2011-08-01T14:16:00.002+10:00

This is my entry for the Connie and Mary Challenge for this week. Very simple I know LOL!! We had a sketch to use and I threw out two earlier cards which I was not happy with. Who would think I could make such hard work out of this sketch! I just went back into my comfort zone and used flowers!!

I can actually see the top of my stamping desk again after a massive clean up - usually I tidy up and just shift things from one place to another but was very ruthless this time and threw out lots!! Amazing how much is spread around when making cards!

It was great this morning to look through the retired SU list and the pre order items. Some items in the retired list are up to 40% off so that is a real discount. Can't wait now to get the new catalogue when my order comes hopefully in the next week!

All supplies for this card are from Stampin' Up!

Card: Pear Pizzazz, Very Vanilla textured and smooth, Rose Red, Daffodil Delight, Baja Breeze, Springtime Vintage DSP
Stamps: Just Believe, Walk in the Park, Teeny Weeny Sentiments
Ink: Pear Pizzazz
Other: Pear Pizzazz seam binding, Boho Blossoms punch, Tag punch, Pearls, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder

Baja and Rose

2011-07-27T14:30:00.003+10:00

Another square card today! I remembered seeing a card made like this, using scallops and pearls and Baja Breeze - yum!

All supplies used for this card are from Stampin' Up! except for the wording and image. I dampened the seam binding before crumpling it all up and then used my heat gun while I kept crumpling it in my hand. I think in hindsight that I need not have had such a crinkled look for this card but all done now!

Now I really must go get some cards ready to send to the Tourist Centre to sell. I have fun making them but do not enjoy the finishing bits like adding inserts etc. I do wish Stampin' Up! would bring out more stamp sets with verses that are suitable for the insides of cards.

Stamps: JustRite Stamps
Card: SU Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Baja Breeze Designer Pattern paper, Springtime Vintage DSP
Ink: SU Pear Pizzazz, Rose Red, Versafine
Other: SU flower punch and dies, Nestabilities Labels die, SU seam binding and pearls

Elements!

2011-07-26T15:12:00.002+10:00

I made this card after being inspired by a card of Joanne Leddy's which you can see here. I also followed her tutorial to make the flower - she makes these so beautifully. Thank you Joanne for generously sharing with us.

Mine has SU Pink Pirouette for the base and the doily, and papers from three different SU paper packs - Designer series paper patterns pack, Love Notes and Springtime Vintage. The flower is made using SU Very Vanilla card stock.

Stamps: SU Elements of Style, Occasional Quotes
Ink: Memento black [stamped off once]
Other: Martha Stewart punch for leaves, SU tag die, white seam binding dyed, pearls coloured with Copic markers, SU white twine

I keep practising!!

2011-07-23T09:30:00.003+10:00

What is a more relaxing time for me than to work with my Copic markers - not at all happy yet with my shading - just looked at this card again and I need to blend the colours better. Marci is a great subject to use for shading practice! I have heaps of her head stamped out LOL!!

I have used all sorts of different things here.

Card: Stampin' Up!, DSP: BG Kioshi
Stamps: La La Land, Flourishes
Ink: Versafine, Memento, Copic Markers
Other: Martha Stewart punch, Prima flower, white seam binding dyed using SU Pear Pizzazz inkpad, Die-Namics Border die, tiny rhinestones.

Just one CASEd card!!

2011-07-21T14:45:00.003+10:00

It is nice to be back and actually making some cards!! This card was one I had almost finished whilst at Kim's stamping retreat a couple of weekends ago. It is almost totally CASEd from Jen's blog - I just loved it and the way the leaves were coloured. I have no sentiment on it yet and the photo corner is only there to cover the SU logo which I discovered after putting everything together LOL!!

These leaves are from the SU French Foliage set which I don't own but borrowed from Jane on the weekend! So thank you Jen for the inspiration and Jane for the loan!!

I have been with my mother whilst she underwent open heart surgery at the tender age of 85. She had four bypasses and a valve replacement done and was in hospital for seven weeks. Now she is back in her own home and just needs time to get her strength and appetite back.

And now I need to get my mojo back and get on and use some of the goodies I have stashed in my craft room.

Card: SU Basic Grey, Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy, Basic Grey DSP
Stamps: French Foliage
Ink: Bravo Burgundy and Ruby Red
Other: SU punch, die [for the zig zag piece] silver brads, button and twine

My week!

2011-05-09T10:56:00.002+10:00

I am sitting at the airport waiting for a plane that is going to be two hours' late due to heavy rain! I will be away for a little while so you will not see any action on my blog. And noooo, I am not going to the SU convention either!!!

I look forward to getting back to some cardmaking and a bit of sanity in my life!

See you soon!

Mother's Day Sweetpeas

2011-04-29T08:47:00.002+10:00

This is what I have made for my Mum this year. She loves flowers and used to grow the most beautiful sweetpeas [I can still smell them!!].

Again I have been practising with my Copics but am not happy at all with what I have done. Mum will think it is pretty so that is the main thing! I have embossed the DSP with a Stampin' Up! Embossing folder for a bit of extra texture and the wording comes from the SU set Occasional Greetings.

I have had a real run of making square cards lately and really enjoy the extra space on these to put things!

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Occasional Greetings and Flourishes for the flowers
Card: SU Whisper White, Groovy Guava and Graphic 45 for the DSP
Ink: SU Basic Black, Memento Tuxedo black and Copic Markers
Other: SU Pearls and embossing folder and butterfly embosslit, Nestabilities, ribbon from my stash.

Lest We Forget

2011-04-25T08:39:00.002+10:00

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on this day every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallopi in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries.

Almost 80,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers died in the First World War followed by almost 30,000 more in the Second World War. Tens of thousands were taken prisoners of war and suffered great cruelty. Australians have also been involved in conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and more recently elsewhere – including Afghanistan and Iraq.

Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

Dawn services are held all over the country followed by a march at 11 am. If anyone wishes to read more about the meaning of ANZAC day, here is a good link.

Some day I would dearly love to travel over to visit the Dardanelles where my grandfather fought in the First World War. He was one of the lucky ones to return home.

Black and white and square!

2011-04-25T08:17:00.002+10:00

I have managed to fit this card into two challenges this week - people never cease to amaze me with the way they can create the one piece of work to fit into several challenges! One of my challenges this time is for the Create with Connie and Mary challenge which is the sketch above and the other challenge is with Friday Mashup which required something in black and white.

Yes many people have used the SU punched heart in this way and i think it is so cute for a wedding card! After punching and embossing the white heart, I sprayed it with SU Smooch Spritz. and it is raised with Dimensionals.

Stamps: SU Curly Cute and Together Forever
Card: Basic Black and Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Other: SU Heart punch, large star punch [ for bow tie], white ribbon, pearls and embossing folder

ColourQ Challenge #81

2011-04-23T12:15:00.004+10:00

A very kind friend from the US had sent me some stamps and I thought this flower one would be good to use for this ColourQ challenge #81. I stamped it in black and clear embossed before colouring it with Stampin' Up! Markers and lightly sponged around the edge with Soft Sky ink.

I have very little of the SU Soft Sky cardstock left but found some retired DSP to use for the background and also some of the Pink Pirouette ribbon which is also now retired. The DSP has been outlined with a black marker and I have coloured the SU clear rhinestones with olive ink.

4 Crafty Chicks Challenge 33

2011-04-20T09:54:00.002+10:00

I had this card made a few days ago but since then have had our son and family here from Sydney so have not got around to posting it.

It is made using the 4 Crafty Chicks sketch challenge #33 and I took the opportunity to use more of the huge stash of DSP that I have. The cardstock used is retired Stampin' Up! Cool Caribbean which is such a cool pretty colour.

Just Because...

2011-04-15T14:11:00.003+10:00

I have made this card for an online friend who is going through a rough patch right now so hopefully it will help her to keep her chin up! Again I started off with a sketch and kept changing it as I went along.

For the big flower, I have punched and distressed some flowers using the SU five petal punch, glued a Prima flower in the centre and then sprayed it with Glimmer Mist which you probably cannot see in the photo. After I embossed the background paper, I sanded the embossed areas to show them up more.

Stamps: Just Rite
Card: SU Blushing Bride, Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride DSP
Other: SU embossing folder, Five Petal punch, Border punch, Oval dies, ribbon and flowers from my stash.

The Friday Mashup Challenge

2011-04-09T15:21:00.002+10:00

This is the very first challenge from the Friday Mashup team and it is a great one to start off with - butterflies in any form! I chose to use this piece of DSP as it has a wee butterfly on it! The DSP is from the October Afternoon Ducks in a Row pad.

I have layered on to SU Tempting Turquoise and have used the SU embosslits Beautiful Wings for the three layers on the butterfly and the wording is from the SU set Perfect Punches. The bow is seam binding which I dyed with SU Summer Sun reinker. To finish off, I have used three different sizes of pearls.

As is usual with me, I start off by using a sketch I have seen but by the end it is just all made up differently. This card was originally portrait style and is totally changed from when I started out LOL. In hindsight, I think I should have had a longer image of the ducks.

Punch Bunch Birthday

2011-03-26T10:14:00.003+10:00

Today is so much cooler - I can certainly live with this temperature! It really is a beautiful day, such a change from the humidity and heat we have had for quite a while. I think April and May are usually the most pleasant months of the year here.

This card is made for the CCMC143 sketch challenge and also for the 4 Crafty Chicks challenge this week. With the latter we had to use eyelets on the card. Well I have not used those things for so long, I had almost forgotten how and it took me half the afternoon to find my eyelet setting tools LOL!! I have bags and boxes of eyelets - enough for the rest of my life!

I do not take any credit for devising these little birds and I don't know who did - I will have to ask Janey as we made a card using them at the retreat last year. I think they are so cute. Their bodies are made with the SU 3/4 inch circle and run through the Polka Dots embossing folder. Their wings are the little wings from the SU bird punch and they have been run through the Textured Impressions embossing folder as is the bottom half of the background DSP.

Stamps: SU Punch Bunch
Card: Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Love Notes DSP [ YUM!]
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black marker for the birds
Other: SU Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon, black eyelets, Square scallop punch, circle punch, bird punch and embossing folders.

Another square card

2011-03-20T14:04:00.003+10:00

Using these bright colours made this card fun to make. I used Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch from last week - she always has great sketches.

I used SU Night of Navy for the layering which matches the papers nicely. The buttons are punched out of the same DSP. My colouring is so dreadful - the little boy looks like he has a grubby face so I think I used the wrong flesh colour there LOL!!

Kindness card

2011-03-17T15:39:00.002+10:00

This card took me a while to make simply because I was experimenting with dyeing seam binding! I dyed a few different colours yesterday and had them on the line overnight to dry. I found it very hard to get anywhere near a match for the darker background layer. The rhinestones have also been coloured to try to match.

The wording has been stamped in SU Bravo Burgundy on to Natural Ivory card which has then been layered on to Old Olive card. I did not want to cover up too much of the pretty background layer so hope these narrow layers look OK. Again I wish I could get clearer photos.

Colour Throwdown #132

2011-03-12T09:01:00.002+10:00

I seem to be making a lot of cards using SU Baja Breeze lately. Time for a change I think! This card is for the Colour Throwdown Challenge #132. Very pretty colours together.

As I have done before, I have stamped the image twice and cut out the flowers from the second and placed them on top of the other.

All supplies from Stampin' Up! except for the small scalloped circle.

Stamps: Just Believe and Punch Bunch
Ink: Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze and Daffodil Delight
Card: Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Soft Sky, Whisper White
Other: Circle punch, Embosslits Beautiful Wings die, Daffodil taffeta ribbon, pearls, embossing folder

Spring has Sprung and Lemon Zingy!

2011-03-09T13:07:00.004+10:00

As it is almost Spring in other countries, there are quite a few challenges in Blogland with the theme of Spring right now. I am entering this card in two challenges - Paper Players Theme Challenge #37 with the theme of Spring has Sprung, and Paper Take Weekly Challenge with the theme of Lemon Zingy.

I used some pretty patterned paper from the SU DSP called Greenhouse Gala and edged it with the SU hearts border punch.

Stamps: SU A Flower for all Seasons and Best Yet
Ink: Chocolate Chip and markers
Card: SU Daffodil Delight, Greenhouse Gala DSP, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White
Other: SU Chocolate Chip ribbon, SU oval and scalloped punches, SU Embosslits Beautiful Wings, SU pearls, SU embossing folder Elegant Bouquet and Nestabilities

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 107

2011-03-07T15:33:00.005+10:00

I seem to be stuck on using SU Baja Breeze but thought I would use the Elegant Soiree DSP for this sketch. I really like the sketch but it is hard to get the little rectangles all perfect. Mine most certainly aren't! These little owls are fun to put together and from the moment I saw the DSP with the "feathers", I knew it would be perfect for the owls' fronts!

This card is for Karen Giron's SSSC 107 and I have just tipped the sketch around. All supplies used are from Stampin' Up! except for the pearls. SU have pearls but they looked too white to use on the vanilla here.

Stamps: Party This Way and Tiny Tags
Card: Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Early Expresso and Elegant Soiree DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze and Early Expresso
Other: Baja Breeze Seam Binding, XL owl punch, Scallop Trim border punch

Colour Throwdown #131

2011-03-05T16:12:00.005+10:00

This picture is really murky - I cannot get good pictures at the best of times but it is raining and so dull here today. When it is sunny again, I will take another photo.

This card is for the Colour Throwdown #131 with these really pretty colours!

I have used four different Stampin' Up! sets to make this up. En Francais, Punch Potpourri, Bliss and the wording comes from the set called Occasional Quotes. The DSP is from the Baja Breeze pack and I have used the SU pearls to finish it all off.

All supplies used are from Stampin' Up! except for the dies used for the circle layers.

Baby girl card

2011-03-03T12:08:00.002+10:00

This card was made to suit two challenges. Simon Says No Cook challenge which had to have one image, two patterned papers and three different types of embellishments. Not sure mine qualifies but I will try! The other challenge is a colour one with the Stampin' Up! colours Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz and Poppy Parade in Hand Stamped Sentiments Colour Challenge #57.

Poppy Parade is such a strong colour so I tried to not use too much of it on here. For the patterned paper, I used the Stampin' Up! DSP In Colour pad which is a hostess gift in the current catalogue. I love it and so glad I picked it as one of my gifts.

The little hearts were punched with the SU owl punch and covered with SU Crystal Effects. The wording comes from a SU set called Best Yet.

Stamps: Stampin' Up Best Yet and Penny Black for the image.
Ink: SU Markers
Card: SU Poppy Parade, Whisper White Pear Pizzazz and In Colour DSP pad
Other: SU Pear Pizzazz ribbon, SU hearts border punch, SU owl punch, Embossing folder, Nestabilities, flower and leaf punches from my stash and Kaisercraft bling.

Springtime card

2011-02-27T11:32:00.002+10:00

I have seen a round card made using these papers together with a decorative border and wording somewhere [wish I can remember where!] and it looked so nice. I liked the idea of the faux stitching around the edges which I did using a SU Chocolate Chip marker.

The wording is also stamped with Chocolate Chip and I have used the retired SU Handsome Hunter and Blush Blossom cardstock. Wish we still had the Blush Blossom card - I love it. Oh and the wording is stamped on SU Confetti White which isn't as stark as Whisper White and goes better with these papers.

I used one small Nestablilities die, cut out five and laid them along under the ribbon. The tiny rose and bling are from my stash.

Sweet Summer

2011-02-24T15:38:00.003+10:00

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I am so pleased I chose this little Sweet Summer set from the Stampin' Up! Sale-a-bration catalogue. I like colouring in the flowers but in this case, I have stamped them on Melon Mambo cardstock and cut them out, then attached them with Dimensionals.

I will enter this card in two challenges - SSSC105 and Picture Perfect Creations Colour Challenge #49. The background DSP is from a retired SU 6 x 6 pad and I coloured a SU pearl in green to match the green leaves etc.

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Sweet Summer and Flourishes wording
Ink: Basic Grey, Melon Mambo and Garden Green
Card: SU Confetti White, Melon Mambo, Garden Green and retired DSP
Other: SU Pearls and white ribbon, Dimensionals, glitter glue, Nestabilities.

CD #97

2011-02-20T08:03:00.003+10:00

Another challenge for Colour Dare! This time the colours to use are Night of Navy, Marina Mist and River Rock. A wee challenge for me as I wanted to use just those colours so I am hoping this looks like a reasonable balance of them.

I have stamped the Navy layer with the SU Woodgrain background stamp in Night of Navy but it is hard to see here. I made the little top corner pieces by cutting them out of a strip of punched heart border.

All supplies from Stampin' Up!

Card: Night of Navy, Marina Mist and River Rock
Ink: Night of Navy
Stamps: Occasional Greetings, Woodgrain background
Other: Night of Navy button, twine, Two step owl extra large punch, N of N marker

Sweet Sunday sketch Challenge 104

2011-02-17T14:07:00.003+10:00

This card is made for Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 104. The base of the card is SU Very Vanilla and the darker layer has been embossed and it is SU Bravo Burgundy. I have coloured the flowers, cut them out and popped them up on SU Dimensionals. There is also a bit of glitter on the flowers. Now to go have a look at the other entries in the challenge - love doing that!

Colour Dare #96

2011-02-11T15:56:00.003+10:00

Here is my take on this week's Colour Dare #96 challenge. The colours to use were Bashful Blue, Peach Parfait and Garden Green - all Stampin' Up! colours as they always are.

I have seen these cards with little calendars on them and thought they were a great idea as you can put a ring around the recipient's birth date and that makes it that little more personal.

The stamps come from a set called Sweet Summer in the current Sale-a-bration catalogue. I have stamped and coloured the flower heads, then cut them out and spritzed them with Smooch Spritz before placing them with Dimensionals. I dyed the little piece of ribbon with SU Peach Parfait.

Stamps: SU Sweet Summer, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card: Garden Green, Peach Parfait, Whisper White and Bashful Blue, In colours designer series paper and retired SU paper
Ink: Bashful Blue, Garden Green and Peach Parfait
Other: SU oval scallop and window punch, smooch spritz, Nestabilities dies, silk ribbon

Love is............!

2011-02-07T09:55:00.005+10:00

What am I thinking - I have ribbon everywhere and none on this card! One of the rare cards where I have not used it. This card is for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge Week 137 and the theme is "Love Is". I used the beautiful Stampin' Up! Play Date DSP - it was perfect! I have always loved Debby's cards and dug up my flower punch out of my old stash to use here as Debby does on lots of her cards. Thank you Debby for your inspiration as always.

The cardstock I used is Stampin' Up! Real Red and Whisper White and I used the SU border punch for the dainty little hearts border. The wording was taken from two different wording stamps and I have used Crystal Effects on the little hearts.

On the inside I have used a stamp from Stampin' Up! Always set and punched out the little hearts from the Stampin' Up! Two Step Owl punch.

CD #95

2011-02-05T15:37:00.002+10:00

I decided on a simple card for this challenge which is the Colour Dare #95. The colours to use were Basic Black, Marina Mist and Daffodil Delight - such lovely colours together! The black suggested silhouette to me so I used my Stampin' Up! Just Believe set, stamped in black and then restamped in the other two colours and cut out the flowers.

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Pendant Park, Just Believe
Card: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Marina Mist, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight
Ink: Basic Black, Marina Mist and Daffodil Delight
Other: Ribbon, pearls, glitter from my stash, Cuttlebug embossing folders

CCCC Act 67

2011-02-04T15:07:00.004+10:00

I found this colour challenge a tough one but anyway managed to finish a card with it. The challenge is Stacey's Curtain Call Colour Challenge [Act 67]. I am not at all happy with the card but it was nice to use the flower and butterfly stamps from Taylored Expressions. The patterned paper is Stampin' Up! retired DSP in Almost Amethyst and I have put some glitter on the flowers to go with the bling.

Stamps: SU wording, Taylored Expressions
Card: Stampin' Up! Cajun Craze, Whisper White and retired SU DSP
Ink: SU Chocolate Chip, Cajun Craze
Other: Carl punches, EK Success border punch, SU Chocolate Chip ribbon, button, glitter and rhinestones from my stash.

Sentimental Sundays - Challenge #39

2011-01-26T14:45:00.004+10:00

Here is my card for the Sentimental Sundays Colour Challenge #39. Almost the whole card is made with punches and dies! Strong colours but summery which is what we are experiencing right now! Note there is no ribbon - that is a change. Hard to see but I have lightly textured the white background.

Stamps: JustRite Stamps
Card: Stampin' Up! Poppy Parade, Handsome Hunter, Summer Sun and Old Olive
Ink: Stampin' Up! Poppy Parade
Other: Stampin' Up Embosslits Beautiful Wings and Little Leaves die, Martha Stewart Border punch and flower punches, Stampin' Up! Texture plate, Nestabilities oval dies, Kaisercraft pearls, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Our day!!

2011-01-26T08:47:00.004+10:00

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY to all my Aussie friends. There are Aussie barbie breakfasts taking place everywhere right now with snags and whatever else goes with them.May there be lots of barbies all day long with prawns and other yummies and just a few coldies to finish it all off!

AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE! OI! OI! OIII!!!

Staceys Act 65

2011-01-20T08:09:00.004+10:00

Another dreary day and another washed out picture. Or maybe it is just me - just not using the right settings.

This card is for Stacey's Curtain Call Colour Challenge Act65. I thought of another flowery card to use these bright cheery colours but opted to use this Penny Black image for a change and I could still use my Copic markers. I am not sure that Kitty's feet should look so sunburnt though.

I used Stampin' Up! DSP from three different packs here - I have so much paper from way way back! One balloon is cut out from a second image and placed with a dimensional.

Stamps: Penny Black, JustRite Stamps
Card: SU Real Red, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, SU DSP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo black, Copic Markers
Other: Cuttlebug embossing folder, Stampin' Up! circle and star punches, SU Wild Wasabi ribbon, SU Dimensionals

A New Year card

2011-01-17T12:20:00.004+10:00

This is the card I sent out to people who I had not sent Christmas cards to when the flooding started. I still have a couple to send yet!! I was in the local Post Office this morning - it was a mad house and the workers were still sorting at midday! Parcels everywhere. We started getting mail again on Friday after not having any for a couple of weeks. The mail trucks could not get through and also the Mail Distribution centre in Brisbane had water through it.

I went grocery shopping and there was fresh milk though no long life or powdered, very very few fruit and vegetables but a couple of loaves of bread left. I cannot believe some people - the check out lady told me that people were abusing her for the lack of groceries and the quality of the fruit etc. Heavens what do they expect with these devastating floods! I bought a very very sad lettuce for seven dollars!! Well all the fertile soil down south that grew these would now be on the streets and in houses in Brisbane. All those poor farmers and people who have lost their houses and livelihoods - will they ever recover?

Back to my card - I have stamped the image and wording in SU chocolate chip and Versamark and clear embossed them on white shimmer card. There is a strip of SU Dazzling Diamonds around the image and Crystal Effects on the glass with a pinch of glitter.

I cut out the numbers circle with Nestabillities and while the die was still on the card, I drew around the inside with a SU Chocolate Chip marker. The little bow was made from the last small length I own of SU taffeta that is now retired - very sad.

The image is from Stampin' Up! and the numbers are from JustRite Stamps.

Simple birthday

2011-01-15T09:37:00.003+10:00

Horrible picture as the card looks so much brighter IRL. The inspiration for this card came from Sharon Johnson - thank you Sharon - I am inspired by many of your cards as you know LOL!! This is a quick card to make and the message is well conveyed with that wording!!

The yellow patterned paper comes from October Afternoon Thrift Shop and the grey piece comes from a Stampin' Up! retired paper pad.

Stamp: Stamp Oasis
Card: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Going Grey, October Afternoon and SU paper pads
Other: SU border punch, ribbon and flower from my stash

Flowers once more!

2011-01-14T09:13:00.004+10:00

Nooooo I did not do this beautiful shading here - this is a coloured digi image! Ideal for making up cards right now as I want to get some more ready to sell. I sold quite a few in December as did Leigh so we need to get some more on the shelves.

Stamps: SU Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card: Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Elegant Eggplant, Basic Grey Utopia paper
Ink: Versafine black
Other: SU oval punches, Nestabilities dies, SU ribbon, Kaisercraft rhinestones, Martha Stewart punch, Cuttlebug embossing folder, flowers and lace from my stash

More Cappella paper!

2011-01-12T09:50:00.003+10:00

My friend Nancy gave me a set of her stamps - thank you so much Nancy - and I have used a flower image here. The stamps stamp so very clearly and finely - perfect for colouring! Another bad photo - we have yet another rainy day so lighting is shocking.

It is amazing how many cards one can make from one 6 x 6 paper pad! I have again used some of my Basic Grey Cappella paper but still have lots left. The Stampin' Up! colours Mellow Moss and Blush Blossom [retired] go with it perfectly.

Stamps: Shady Tree Studios, Wordsworth clear stamps
Card: Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip and Mellow Moss, Basic Grey Cappella paper
Ink: Memento Tuxedo black, Copic markers
Other: Nestabilities, Kaisercraft Pearls

New Years Card

2011-01-09T12:19:00.003+10:00

I have been making a few New Years Cards to send out and this one is going to a friend overseas - bit late I know but most of the year left yet LOL!

The paper I used here comes from a paper pad called Midnight Frost by Bo Bunny and although I guess it is more Christmas paper, it can be used quite well for other themes. It is very very nice!

I have used a sketch from Carol's Sketch Fun Challenge #25 this time - so many sketches out there which makes it so easy to find something to suit.

The image has been coloured with Prisma pencils and solvent - I thought I would have a change from using the Copic Markers.

Card: SU Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White, Bo Bunny Midnight Frost paper pad
Stamps: Penny Black and JustRite Stampers
Ink: Memento Tuxedo black, SU Night of Navy and Prisma pencils
Other: Silver glitter card for stars, Nestabilities dies, Ribbon, rhinestones from stash and glitter glue

Colour Q Challenge #66

2011-01-07T09:52:00.003+10:00

These colours are so nice together and the yellow made me think of daisies! This card is for the Colour Q Challenge #66 where there are such gorgeous cards entered every time. I really enjoy looking at everyone's there - very talented people.

In hindsight, I should have used black ribbon but did not have the width I needed - too wide and it would have been too much. Oh well it was a good way to use up some of the retired SU Soft Sky ribbon!!

Stamps: Flourishes

Card: SU Soft Sky, Daffodil Delight, Black, White, Retired SU DSP Autumn Flowers

Ink: Versafine black, SU Daffodil Delight, So Saffron

Other: Square Nestabilities, CB embossing folder, SU retired Soft Sky ribbon, SU button and pearls,

Curtain Call Colour Challenge 63

2011-01-05T15:55:00.003+10:00

I found this colour combo a bit tough but heh that is what challenges are all about to me! This one is for Stacey's Curtain Call Colour Challenge #63. There are three quite rich colours and I love them but found it hard to place the green. Hence the Always Artichoke is just used on the leaves!

Stamps: SU Vintage Vogue, JustRite Stampers

Card: SU Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke and Cajun Craze

Ink: SU Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke and Cajun Craze

Other: Cuttlebug embossing folder, wrinkled ribbon and SU pearls, Nestablilities die

Stamping 411 Colour challenge

2011-01-03T11:20:00.004+10:00

I took part in the Stamping 411 Colour Inspiration #147 this week and here is my card. Love the Rose Red and I used some stripe paper that came in a Stampin' Up! pad long ago!!

The flower from the SU set Fifth Avenue Floral has been stamped and cut out from the same paper pad. Since I took this photo, I have added three little SU pearls to the top left hand corner to finish it all off. The stamens in the flower have been coloured with a Copic Marker and then topped with a little glitter glue.

Stamps: Stampin' Up Fifth Avenue Floral, Best Yet
Card: SU Rose Red, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic marker
Other: Martha Stewart branch punch, SU Wild Wasabi ribbon, Nestabilities oval and scallop oval dies, SU Pinking Hearts border punch.

Ornament

2011-01-01T15:53:00.003+10:00

This is the last of the Christmas projects that I am making for now. I have these Kaisercraft wooden ornament shapes which are really designed as an ornament album but many people are using them for ornaments. My inspiration for this one came from Deb and here is hers!! Thank you Deb - I loved yours!

The paper and image comes from Graphic 45 Christmas Past paper pad. I have run around the striped Nestability shape with a gold Krylon pen and used a Nestability snowflake die to cut out the snowflake from glitter card.

For the life of me, I could not find my Stickles gold glitter glue so have used gold Flower Soft around the outer edge!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!

Clean and Simple Sketch 121

2010-12-30T14:50:00.002+10:00

What a marathon to get this picture on here! It is here - not as I would have liked to have seen it though! Seems as if there is something behind the lens of my camera too - probably mould after all the rain we have been having LOL.

I used the sketch from the Clean and Simple #121 challenge and seem to be on a red, black and vanilla roll lately! I do not take any credit for the cute little bird and I have no idea where the original idea came from but a few of us were making up cards using him at Kim's camp - fun!
The beak and feet are stamped with a stamp from SU Cheep Talk. Jane, you possibly know whose idea he belongs to!! Oh so cute!

Now that Christmas is over, I hope to take part in more challenges - a lot of the hard work is already done in these - either the sketch or the colour combo. My computer is driving me crazy right now - it crashed and I lost heaps and now cannot re install my favourite programs as the CD drive is not working. My little technician has gone to India so I wait patiently for his return!

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Music Wheel, Cheep Talk, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card: SU Black, Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler
Other: SU Square Lattice embossing folder, Polka Dots embossing folder, XL bird punch, circle, window, large oval and large scallop punches, Lots of Tags sizzlets die, scallop trim border punch

It might seem like I did a lot of work on this card but just by using so many punches, it all comes together so fast so really it was simple!

Christmas bird

2010-12-09T15:23:00.002+10:00

I received a few new stamps yesterday and wanted to try out the wording on one of them. Here is the card that gave me the idea for this sketch. I love this paper from Kaisercraft Dear Santa but was stumped on how to use it. I will make another card now and use SU Elegant Eggplant in place of the SU Cherry Cobbler as Robyn's looks really pretty.

Card: Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Vanilla card from stash
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Stamps: SU Punch Potpourri, Wordsworth wording
Other: Kaisercraft Dear Santa paper, SU XL bird punch, SU Petals-a-Plenty Embossing folder, Nestabilities scalloped circle, Kaisercraft rhinestones

Shadow Box card

2010-12-08T15:53:00.005+10:00

My desktop computer is very ill and in my little Indian technician's words this morning - it is still on the operating table and he cannot get the temperature down! So I asked him to give it a transplant - that is - a new motherboard!! I know dust and heat are the killers of computers and believe me, it has seen its share of that before we shifted!

So I am on the laptop and am lost without my usual photo editing program etc. We have seen very little sun here for the last who knows how long and this photo is not the best so I apologise.

I bought some coloured vellum and couldn't wait to make some vellum flowers as I saw on Selma's blog here! She does some wonderful work and readily shares her knowledge. Thank you Selma too for the idea of this shadow box card. She also has some of these on her blog. The butterfly has been dusted with SU Dazzling Diamonds over 2 way glue. The leaves are punched out of vellum using a Carl punch.

Card: Stampin' Up Whisper White and Pretty In Pink

Ink: Versamark

Stamp: Stampin' Up

Other: Martha Stewart Punches, Stampin' Up Border punch Pinking Hearts, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Oval Nestabilities dies, Kaisercraft pearls, white satin ribbon from stash

Little Drawers!

2010-11-22T14:19:00.003+10:00

I have not done much card making lately as I was busy getting a number of cards finished off and packaged ready for sale and travelling with my son to Sydney and back [it was good to see his twin brother and family for a short time while we were there]. We travelled just under 3000 kms from here to there and back with a car trailer behind!

This little set of drawers is for a very special friend who has done a lot for me at times this year. The tutorial is on Splitcoaststampers and I think is called Santa's drawers??? Now I have made up one set, I know more of where to cut etc. as to make it all fit together better.

I used Soft Suede for the frame and divider and then SU Elegant Soiree DSP for the drawers etc. For the back section, I used the SU Top Note die, SU Sizzlet die set Lots of Tags, the Embosslit Die set Beautiful Wings, the large oval tag punch and the Oval Extra-large punch. The wording is from the hostess set Occasional Quotes.

Hard to see but I have put a "runner" on top of the drawers. For the edge of it, I used the Pinking Hearts Border punch.

I used the Crumb Cake buttons for the drawers and so they can be opened more easily, I threaded the narrow taffeta Very vanilla ribbon through and left little loops. Satin Very Vanilla ribbon is wrapped right around and finished off with a bow.

All supplies are from Stampin' Up! except for the little pearls which are Kaisercraft.

I hope my friend likes it and can use the little stamping goodies I have placed in each drawer!